


Isolation and the Art of Stargazing

by Rhadamantelope



Category: Portal (Video Game)
Genre: Family Fluff, Gen, Pre-Game(s), based on a silly theory that got a bit out of hand
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-11
Updated: 2015-03-11
Packaged: 2018-03-17 08:04:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3521702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhadamantelope/pseuds/Rhadamantelope
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chell's father teaches her a valuable lesson on stars, cats, and how to find her way home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Isolation and the Art of Stargazing

It was eight days to her eighth birthday, and her father had taken her out to the field behind their house to look at the stars. She had to stand on her toes to look through the lens of the telescope, which her mother had bought a few weeks earlier.  
The stars twinkled on the black backdrop of the night sky, and she searched intently for Orion's Belt, the only constellation she was sure she would recognize.   
"I can't find it," she said after several minutes.  
"Let me have a look." Her father knelt down and peered through the telescope. He grinned and ushered her closer. "There it is. Look up and to the right. D'you see it?"  
Another few moments of rigorous exploration, she nodded, small ponytail bobbing up and down.  
"Do you know the names of those three stars?"  
"No."  
"No? Goodness, what are they teaching you in school?"  
"Math, mostly." She wrinkled her nose. She was good at math, but found it rather boring nonetheless. Her father laughed.  
"Well, I suppose that's a good thing, then." She raised one dark eyebrow at that. He sat back in the grass with a sigh. "Those three stars are named Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka."  
"I like those names."  
"I do too. Pretty, aren't they, those stars?"  
She nodded again and took another look through the telescope.  
"What stars do people in England see right now?" she asked.  
"Well, let's see now," her father replied thoughtfully. "I know they can see Draco at night. Especially when it's not cloudy, like tonight. Though in England it's probably still cloudy right now, and not night yet either."  
"Is it always cloudy in England?"  
"For the most part, love. 'S not so bad though, especially if you have the right rainboots."  
She giggled. She was sure she wouldn't mind the clouds and rain if her father ever took her and her mother to visit England, an idea he often talked of. He smiled down at her and ruffled her hair.  
"Is the moon really made of cheese?" she inquired earnestly with a little smirk.  
He frowned.  
"I beg your pardon, my dear?"  
"I heard the moon was made of cheese. Is it?"  
"That's ridiculous," her father laughed. "If the moon were made of cheese...why, all the rats and mice on Earth would take rocketships up there, and there would be no more rodents for the cats to chase about!"  
"Then would the cats follow them?" The girl could barely contain her laughter as she prompted her father to continue the silly little narrative. "If the cats followed them, then we wouldn't have any cats to put in boxes!"  
"Now you sound like your mother with all that talk of cats being put in boxes. That's not the wisest plan, sticking a cat in a box."  
"I know," the girl said. "Then we won't know if the cat exists or not, right?"  
"Oh, not exactly," her father said, putting an arm around her. "It's more whether it's alive or not, but now we're making things a bit complicated. You see that star there?"  
She followed the direction of his finger to a rather large star shining brightly in the middle of the inky sky.  
"That's the North Star. They named it Polaris. If you're ever lost, just look for good old Polaris, and you'll always be able to find your way home."  
"I don't want to get lost..."  
"And I don't want you to, love. But if you ever do, I want you to remember that. Can you do that for me, Chell?"  
She nodded, gazing at the shimmering silhouette of the North Star, shining like a button on black velvet.

**Author's Note:**

> I think the theory mentioned in the tags speaks for itself, if you were able to infer who her father may be. (I would hope you could.)


End file.
